SULHITA Palestinian, Israeli youth
bring their parents
into the circle
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Sulha in Arabic language
and culture is a process of engagement leading to
forgiveness and reconciliation.
The Sulha
Peace Project - http://sulha.com
- is a newer, widely-attended tradition in the Holy Land.
In August, 2007,
over 4,000 youth and adults attended the sixth annual "On the Way to Sulha" gathering in the olive groves of the Latrun Trappist monastery,
between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
They included over 300 Palestinians from East
Jerusalem and the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Jenin,
Nablus, Jericho, Bethlehem and Hebron.
There were Israeli Jews, including many religious Jews and
settlers, as well as Arabs from the Galilee and Bedouin from the Negev.
2007 SULHITAS
The Sulhita
is newer, for Israeli and Palestinian youth only -
Muslims, Jews and Christians.
In February,
2007, their Palestinian-Israeli youth retreat at Ma'ale
Shaharut in the Arava
Desert in Israel brought together 90 teenagers - 45 Jews and 45 Arabs,
including 10 from the West Bank, 15 from Gaza, and 20 from Israel.
November 19-23, 2007,
inspired Holy Land adults again brought together for a week at Shan Derech Habsamim in the Arava Desert 100 Palestinian and Israeli teens, ages 16-17,
including 30 from the West Bank and 15 from Gaza.
It changed lives and world views of the youth and
counselors.
SEE a 5-minute video of their experience:
Part of the Sulhita
staff had just returned with inspiration and tools from the October 5th Oseh Shalom ~ Sanea-al Salam Palestinian-Jewish Peacemakers Camp in the
California mountains.
Elad Vazana ( Elad@havayati.co.il )
shepherded the Sulhita and was a primary initiator,
trainer and facilitator.
Rina Kedem
( RinaKedem@msn.com ) brought youth from the Arava area and was part of an Arava
Institute team that gave an ecology workshop for nine teens - 3 Palestinians, 3
Israelis and 3 Americans.
Amit Chertoff
( AmitSheep@gmail.com ) gave a mud building workshop.
Ariel Huler ( ArielHuler8@gmail.com ) from Seeds of Peace helped bring
young SOP participants..
Noam Burg ( sisoburg@gmail.com
) volunteered to help create bridges between the adults and youth.
Deddy Paz (
Deddy@campkimama.org ) was strongly supportive.
Karen AbuZant ( PalKaren@hotmail.com ) from Tulkarem
tried to bring teens from her town who eventually couldn't travel.
See PHOTOS at http://traubman.igc.org/sulhitaphotos.pdf
.
See TV NEWS of the most recent Fall, 2007 Sulhita in the Arava Desert:
January
2008 SULHITA Family Reunion
In January, 2008,
Sulhita participants reunited at Neve
Shalom - Wahat al-Salam (Oasis of Peace) - http://nswas.org - an Israeli
village where Arab and Jewish families live and learn together.
This time the Sulhita youth
brought together their mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers from the West
Bank and Israel.
They expanded the circle to share the experience of
their new quality of communication and connection.
Back in listening circles, the 140 adults and youth
shared pains and hopes, and spoke of the importance of home in shaping one's
identity and complete knowledge about Arab-Jewish history and relationships.
The 60 youth included 30 boys and 30 girls, with 24
from the West Bank.
There were 70 mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters
of the youth, and 10 other guests.
In listening circles they deeply heard one another's
pain and hopes.
They shared meals, social games, and singing Sulhita songs of hope.
Most family members had never met someone from the
"other side."
Each youth experienced making a difference -
influencing their parents and widening the circle of Sulha.
See PHOTOS at http://traubman.igc.org/sulhitaphotos.pdf
.
2008 SULHITA
The 5th Sulhita, April 3-7, 2008, brought back together in the Arava desert 100 motivated Jewish and Palestinians teens.
Signed up were 140 participants, 40 from West Bank
towns.
See the INVITATIONS they used to discover young
participants:
In one social outcome, a 16-year-old Jewish
Israeli Sulhita participant single-handedly organized
a first-ever meeting between teens from her Jewish village, Nataf,
and their next-door Arab village, Ein Raffa.
The two villages in Israel are 5-minutes apart, yet
there had never before been social contact.
An added educational benefit will come from
Jewish Sulhita leader, Elad
Vazana ( Elad@havayati.co.il
and http://havayati.co.il/
) and a Palestinian colleague who are finishing a book of facilitator
guidelines and experiences for community building among Palestinian and Jewish
communities.
It will be a how-to for workshop leaders.
Young volunteers will have tools to help citizens in
their communities engage for the environment, economics, gender, dialogue
communication, and conflict deliberation and resolution.
Next step: June
2008 SULHITA Family Reunion
In a next-step, this mid-June, 2008 over 200 Sulhita
campers and their families - parents, sisters, brothers - will will drive to gather in a beautiful monastery in Abu-Gosh
near Jerusalem.
Meeting with 130 citizens of Israel will be two buses
filled with 90 participants from the West Bank.
Most parents will be meeting someone from the
"other side" for the first time.
Preparation will include all 15 facilitators first
meeting earlier in a Nataf home for quality time
together - leadership preparation and deepening in Dialogue.
Next step: July
2008 SULHITA Deepening
Then in July,
2008 on beautiful Mt. Carmel will be further bonding and deepening
in principles and practices.
Over 4 days, the 30 most active youth, 40 from the
leadership team of the larger Sulha - http://sulha.com/ - and all 30
listening circle facilitators will strengthen their own relationships and
skills.
Trainer and spiritual mentor Elad
Vazana, one member of a dedicated Sulha
team, makes sure that leaders are living the life they prescribe to the young
Jewish and Palestinian campers.
Vazana describes this new
kind of life as beginning with "face-to-face gathering and deep dialogue -
looking in the 'other' eyes - crying and smiling."
Arabs and Jews together - listening, creating,
equals.
The foundation for
sustainable change.
The role of citizens.
The dependable beginning.
Inventing the future.